


Wildcat

by SeleneLawfulGood



Category: RWBY, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Catra (She-Ra)-centric, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, POV Catra (She-Ra), Past Abuse, Post-Volume 1 (RWBY), Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-05-02 02:48:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19190398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeleneLawfulGood/pseuds/SeleneLawfulGood
Summary: Catra refused to to live the rest of her life at the beck and call of a madwoman, to leave her fate in the hands of someone who would kill her without hesitation.Thus, Catra ran, and didn't stop until she was safe.Even if the conditions of her safety weren't what she would have expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I should have been writing the next chapters for the other fics, but I had an idea for this and just needed to write it. Also She-Ra is my favorite show alongside RWBY right now and I wanted to see them crossed, so here we are.
> 
> I can say I want this to be a short one, but I don't really know.
> 
> But anyways, onto the thing.

I walked away from the room as fast as my legs let me without running. His secretary waved at me, and I waved back, forcing a smile to my face.

Only once I was inside the elevator did I manage to relax.

The meeting had been nerve-wracking, but it was done. No more talking, no more negotiating.

I was finally safe.

I couldn’t really believe it, I felt as if she would suddenly appear around the corner and snatch me up with her semblance to take me back to…. to that hell.

But I was safe, I was free, Ozpin had promised me, and he _had_ the resources to protect me (I knew, she’d made us study him, just in case she finally snapped and decided she wanted to kill him or some crap). Of course, having to enroll in his Academy and going to remedial classes wasn’t what I’d have preferred, _at all_ , but it was a very small price to pay.

 _And_ I didn’t have to risk my life against a bunch of grimm during initiation, which was good. I’d probably have to do it later, but I wouldn’t be alone by then, hopefully.

I could see the number of their – _our_ room I guess – at the end of the hallway, and I stopped, to prepare myself.

‘But it’s just meeting new people Catra’ you may say ‘they’re not going to hate you or anything’ you may say, and you may be right!, but I come from Mistral, and barely anyone was nice to regular faunus there, much less someone like me, so excuse me for being wary and preparing myself for a hypothetical rejection.

Once again, I gathered the bag they’d given me to replace the one I had, put it over my shoulders and walked to the door. I still stood there for a few moments, hand raised and ready to knock on the door, but unmoving.

_Come on Catra you’re stronger than this_

I took a deep breath, and knocked, then backed off a little. There was no sound for a few seconds, until I could hear a voice behind the door.

“ _Just a second!_ ”

There was a rumbling, then the sound of the door opening. I gulped on instinct.

Then I almost dropped my bag.

_She…!_

That same smile, that same blonde hair and… lilac eyes?

And an increasingly confused expression.

“Hey… you okay?”

That definitely awakened me from my stupor.

“A-ah! Yeah, yeah, just, I mistook you for somebody else, sorry”

_Fuck_

“Oh” after less than a second, the smile returned to her face, as if I hadn’t just been silently staring at her for like ten seconds “nah, don’t worry, it can happen to anyone”

I wanted to punch myself for making that mistake, they didn't look even _remotely_ similar. I had to be really tired if just seeing an - admittedly beautiful - girl with blonde hair ( _not even the same shade!_ I mentally screamed) had made me confuse this girl with _her_.

In any case, I cleared my throat, trying at the same time to keep my tail from just moving around from how nervous I was after that embarrassment.

“So, I suppose Ozpin told you you’d be getting a new teammate?”

She nodded slowly, probably trying to recall when he did it, then her eyes widened in realization.

“Yeah, that’s me” I somewhat reluctantly waved with my free hand “name’s Catrina”

The girl _beamed_ , like I could be blinded by her as when looking directly to the sun during the day. Then, she approached me and gave me a short one-armed squeeze before my brain could process it and order my instincts to tell me to run.

“Well, nice to meet you!, I’m Yang Xiao-Long…” she pointed with her thumb to the inside of the room “… and you’ll have to meet our other two teammates later because they’re kind of out right now, doing something at Vale”

“That’s okay” I answered as she entered the room, coming in just behind her “more time to adjust I guess”

She hummed in agreement. The room was big, with three disheveled beds and a fourth that didn’t seem to have been used, alongside a few shelves, one of which was completely filled with books. I left my bag on the floor near the bed and nearly jumped to it, sprawling myself over its surface. It was very comfortable to be honest (more than any other bed I’d slept in).

Yang strolled back to her own bed, just next to mine, and sat down, her eyes looking intently at me.

“If this sounds insensitive you don’t have to answer it, but I need to ask” I raised an eyebrow as my head turned to look at her, then shrugged “… you really have more than one faunus trait?”

What?, _what kind of question is that, is she blind?_

“Well, yeah, I mean, they’re at full display” I moved my ears and flicked my tail around, and she could definitely see my fur and stripes.

“Oh, okay” she shrugged too, less casually than she intended to “it’s just, I hadn’t seen anyone with so many before and I was kind of surprised, sorry fo-”

“It doesn’t matter” I cut her off

I looked away and closed my eyes, ignoring the look she was giving me, like she wanted to keep talking or asking stuff, _I'm not in the mood for this._

“Sorry, 's been a long day, I’m kinda tired” I said.

She sighed after a few seconds, then made some noise with her movements. A quick glance at her confirmed that she had lain back onto her bed and picked up her scroll, to do whatever, I didn’t really care much what.

We didn’t talk again afterwards.

 

* * *

 

_“Catra!”_

_I know, I know it’s her._

_She’s here somewhere, but I can’t find her, can’t even smell her through the fire and the ashes._

_“Catra I’m here!”_

_Even following the sound of her voice is difficult. It’s muted, like someone trying to speak underwater._

_I feel the pounding in my ears stronger than ever before, as if they were about to explode._

_I needed to find her, I coul-_

_“CATRA!”_

_“ADORA!”_

_There’s a disgusting sound of something cracking._

_Suddenly, the fire vanishes._

_Almost everything vanishes._

_The only thing left is a soundless and colorless void, with shadows moving, skittering around._

_And me._

_I can’t hear her voice anymore, I can’t see her or smell her._

_She… she’s_

_I drop to the ground on a fetal position, hugging myself. Tears freely fall down my face, faster and stronger than before._

_I’m alone again._

_She’s gone, Adora’s gone forever, I’ll never see her again, I couldn’t do anything to help her and now she’s dead because I’m a useless anim -_

 

* * *

 

It was night outside when I woke up.

It was kind of embarrassing to realize that I had just fallen asleep like that in the first place – no, I had not been trying to, I just wanted to not talk. Guess I was more tired than I thought.

I yawned, then turned around, to see that my new teammate hadn’t stayed in the room with me after I nodded off. It made me feel a pang of _something_ in my chest, I didn’t want to think about what, small but still noticeable.

I just got off the bed, rubbing my eyes, and headed to the door I thought was- _yep_ , it was the bathroom. I would go back into the bed immediately after I finished here, so I didn’t bother with any hygieny stuff, that could wait until tomorrow. Only then I noticed the tear tracks below my eyes. _I must have been dreaming or something_ , I guessed, _probably about her_. I really hoped my new teammate hadn’t seen it, or heard it, if I still made sounds when I slept (which I doubted, that _bitch_ had beaten it out of me).

I noticed a bunch of voices approaching the room at walking pace the moment I left the bathroom. I turned off the lights again and went back to the bed as fast and quietly as possible, trying to look as if I hadn’t got up in the first place. I was really sleepy and tired and not in the mood to talk, they should have come earlier if they wanted to.

It took just a few more seconds, but the voices – one of which I recognized as blondie’s – finally arrived. Instead of entering the room, however, they just stood there talking behind the closed door as if I hadn’t a better hearing than the regular person (even if I only had one pair of ears unlike other faunus with similar traits).

“… ched that asshole if I’d been there” that was Yang.

“Not that I wouldn’t appreciate it, but I didn’t want to make a scene just because of a random racist” that was a different one, another one of my new teammates I could guess, maybe a faunus? “and besides, our _fearless_ leader made him back off”

A snort, coming from Yang “If I didn’t know you, I’d say you’re falling for her with how much you're hanging out lately”

“Nah, I only have eyes for you, you know that”

“Oh, do I know that” then she- _tried to_ _purr-!?_

I willfully tuned her out, fast. It wasn’t very successful, given that I _do_ have better hearing than a regular person and she and her – I guess – girlfriend were the only sources of noise near me, but at least I tried to avoid listening.

An unknown amount of time later of not being able to fall asleep again due to their background conversation, I noticed a third person had approached the door. They greeted the other two in a hushed voice that I couldn’t really understand (how late was it?, I hadn’t bothered to check the hour), and I heard them almost push the door open before a less hushed Yang told them to wait, and mentioned me.

 _That_ was interesting, but it wouldn’t have kept me from wanting the sweet release of sleep, I didn’t want to hear these people talk about how I’m a rude bitch or something.

And it didn’t. What did, was the voice of that third person that had just arrived, of that girl. A voice I immediately recognized, a voice I thought I would never hear again.

I quickly raised my head and turned towards the door, slowly getting out of the bed, until I was standing right in front of it.

_That… she…_

_No… no, it can’t be_

I wanted to walk to the door, to open it and see, but my feet didn’t move from their spot on the floor. They were still talking in hushed whispers, to avoid ‘waking me up’ maybe, but I couldn’t pay attention to the specific words when _her_ voice was _right there_ , obviously older, but still recognizable.

I couldn’t think, it was… it couldn’t…

While I was still in my immobile trance, the choice of seeing the girl behind the door was taken from me as she opened the door, having finished whatever conversation she might have been having, the other two coming in behind her.

My mind went blank, and she was all I could see.

Dark blonde hair held up in a short ponytail, leaving her forehead visible; bright blue eyes that opened wide with both recognition and disbelief once they landed upon me.

For what felt like an eternity, all we did was stand there, staring at each other. Then, one word, a whisper so soft it was almost inaudible, which dispersed any and all doubts I might have had at that moment.

“Catra…?”

I noticed the wetness in my cheeks before I realized I had started crying. I could barely even speak, in fear that my voice would break the moment I opened my mouth.

“Adora”

She started crying silently as well, and her lips lifted into a smile, that beautiful kind smile that only she could make.

I felt her strong but gentle arms wrap around me in a rush, holding me as if this was all an illusion and I would vanish the moment she stopped. I returned the gesture without hesitation, almost stabbing my nails into her clothes so I would have a stronger grip on her; so I wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ , let her go again.

“Ad-dora, y-you're-”

“C-catra, I…” _sniff_ “I’m s-so happy you’re o-okay”

I could hear her sobbing, and I was unable to stop myself from doing the same, but it didn’t matter. She was here, I could smell her, hear her, feel her; she was here, she was _alive_.

And we were together again.

That was all that mattered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The middle portion of this chapter was a nightmare to write let me tell you. 
> 
> Not much really happens here, mostly just fluff. And also clingy Catra.

The next few minutes were a bit of a blur in my memory.

I remembered the other two awkwardly leaving the room while we cried, and I remembered cuddling in Adora’s bed, just like we used to do when we were kids.

And, of course I remembered seeing _her_ and the formerly slumbering feelings she awoke on me, after six years without her, after six whole years thinking she was-

_She’s not, she’s here, stop_

Yeah, that was what mattered, I’d deal with the implications of her absence later.

I didn’t remember much else of the night after that.

Seeing how peaceful she looked while sleeping – her arms still draped around me, holding me – and just how warm and overall good that made me feel… it made it easy to put everything else in my mind on hold.

It was hard to believe, for a moment, that this wasn’t some kind of dream. That I wouldn’t suddenly wake up yesterday night, and find that Adora hadn’t been here at all, and it had all been my imagination.

But she was, _she_ _was_ , I could feel her skin under my fingers, as I tucked a few stray strands of hair that fallen over her face back behind her ear, earning a soft hum from her.

I couldn’t help but smile, and felt some tears threaten to spill out. I just wanted to nuzzle my head into her chest, and lay there all day listening to the soothing sound of her heartbeat, but the sun had risen and, while classes wouldn’t start for like two or three more days, Adora had always been an early riser.

I moved closer to her, content with just staying like this until she woke up, and wrapped my tail around her waist. Her arms moved with me just a second after, I assumed noticing my momentary absence. Having her even closer like this, it just… made me feel _safe_ , like she wouldn’t let anyone or anything hurt me; it was so calm and comfortable, I almost fell asleep again.

Not too much later though, Adora finally began to stir, and I knew it was over (for now). I moved away just a little and looked up to her face when I heard her yawn, and saw her eyes begin to flutter open, unfocused for a second, before landing on me. Her mouth morphed into a fond smile, and I wanted to melt right then and there.

“Hey Adora” I managed to say.

She yawned again, before answering “hey Catra”

I couldn’t stop staring at her eyes, and I did stay like that for a few seconds. Then, Adora giggled, and pulled me closer “I’m so glad” she said “all these years… I missed you, I-I missed you so much”.

I let out a soft yelp, surprised at the sudden closeness, closer than I’d dared to get before she awoke. But once I settled in, feeling her warmth all over my body like a haven of safety, I could do nothing to stop the rumbling that had started running through my chest.

And started purring.

…

For about five seconds.

Then the moment was destroyed by the opening of the door and a very high-pitched squeal that came almost immediately after.

“That was so adorable!”

“Yang, they’re still sleeping!”

I decided I liked that girl more than blondie.

I really wanted to yell at them to go away, but it would have been pointless anyway. And Adora was here. I did _not_ want Adora to see me like that, no matter how godsdamned infuriating this had been, not after… not after all this time.

Thankfully, Adora also seemed at least annoyed at their intrusion, even if she didn’t show it with more than an almost inaudible groan. She gave one last strong squeeze and flashed me her beautiful smile, before freeing her hands from my body and slowly sitting on the bed. I rubbed my eyes slightly and began to pull up too.

“It’s okay guys” Adora waved them off, which combined with her words, ended their pseudo-hushed conversation right then and there “we’ve been awake for a while, we were just being lazy”

 _More like making up for lost time_ , I thought.

The other two at least had the decency of looking a little guilty – or blondie, at least, the other girl just looked disinterest- _yep, she’s a faunus, don’t know who she’s pretending to fool with that “disguise” though, I can see it moving from here!_

“Still, sorry. You looked like you were having a moment, and we just came in and interrupted you” the other girl said, and I appreciated it. Yang also muttered an apology while rubbing the back of her head, but I didn’t appreciate it as much.

“Nah, seriously, don’t worry, we’ll have more than enough time to do that now” I noticed another, shyer smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It made me feel just a little less irritated.

Yang then went and plopped down – almost jumped – onto her bed, which was exactly like she had left it yesterday, like the other girl’s bed now that I noticed (where had these two slept?).

“Well, I’d say that I hope you had a good night, but it’s pretty clear you did”

Then she _winked_ at us.

Adora immediately blushed, laughing awkwardly and looking away, while I remained unimpressed and barely raised an eyebrow (I mean, we had done nothing but cuddle. They were probably the best cuddles I’d had in my life, but they were just that).

I saw a smirk grow on Yang’s face, but she said nothing else on it. Blake shook her head and sighed, which I agreed with, but she was also smiling.

“In any case, Ruby and the others are going to the cafeteria in a while” she said, sitting next to Yang “I don’t know about you two, but I’m kinda hungry”

“Me too”

I wasn’t going to say anything about it, but my stomach interrupted me anyway, growling hard enough that everyone in the room knew it came from me.

“I couldn’t eat a lot yesterday” I tried to hide the small patches of redness that I was sure had appeared on my cheeks “and I skipped dinner”

Adora then jumped onto the floor, almost pulling me with her – since my tail had still been wrapped around her waist, a fact that I was grateful no-one noticed, because I certainly hadn’t either – and pumped her fist up.

“Okay, then our first order of business as a full team will be meeting up with them!” she moved her hands to her waist “after we change clothes”

Yang got up from the bed while making a comment about leaving us some privacy, which earned her a light slap from the arm from her – I assumed – girlfriend. Adora then seemed to realize something.

“Hey uh, Catra?” she said as I went for my bag, where my only other clothes were (just some jeans, a black t-shirt and some plain underwear. I hadn’t had time to get anything else while I was running).

“Yeah?”

She pointed her thumb at the black-haired girl, who had been about to leave after Yang before Adora stopped her “I don’t think you two met properly. This is Blake”

“Blake Belladonna, yeah” she raised her hand for me to shake “nice to meet you… Catrina?”

I took it and did so “yep, though I guess you can call me Catra too” she winced, almost imperceptibly, but I acted as if I hadn’t seen it.

“Welcome to the team then, I think you’ll like it here, Beacon is a pretty nice place”

“Thanks, and so I’ve been told”

She thankfully decided to end the small talk there.

“I think Yang and I will be going now, you’ll catch up?”

Adora nodded “yep, no problem with that”

“Okay, see you later” she waved, and left promptly after.

I immediately felt more relaxed the moment she closed the door behind her. It wasn’t her fault, really, she seemed nice, but that living sun she seemed to have glued to her hip was a little annoying ( _yes_ , I was still a little irritated about her interrupting us, but can you blame me?). Still, it was just the first day of potentially several years, I could most likely learn to like them, if Adora did they were probably good people. If not, I guess I could tolerate them and work together with them. Whatever it took to stay in Ozpin’s good graces, really.

I straightened the t-shirt as best as I could, and prepared to take off my combat outfit – which I should have done before I took that four-hour nap yesterday. Then I remembered I wasn’t alone in the room.

I turned around, and poked her in the shoulder, making her look.

“You mind if I change here?”

In defiance of my expectations, she _didn’t_ become as red the jacked she had just gotten from one of the closets. Instead, she just casually told me that it wasn’t a problem and went back to her clothes.

One more spark of familiarity, from before we were separated. It’s stupid, but… it felt reassuring, and it obviously made me smile.

It took less than a minute for both of us to change – and I found it somewhat funny that I had switched from combat clothes to casual while Adora had done the opposite. I took my morning pills with a bottle of water that I had in my bag, and really should have replaced days ago; then we were both ready, and so, we decided to head out.

Not ten seconds after leaving th- _our_ room Adora suddenly stopped walking, and looked back to me, seemingly nervous.

“We… we’re going to talk about this, right? I mean, I want to know how you’ve been these past few years, especially after thinking for so long that I would never see you again”

That… was something that I honestly expected. I didn’t want it, to be honest, I didn’t want her to know how much _that bitch_ had hurt me after she disappeared and blame herself for it, because I knew she would!, she had always been a bleeding heart like that, and it wouldn’t help either of us.

But I wanted to lie to her even less than that and… well, even if we hypothetically had a fight or something because of this, we could work through it, and we could fix it!, because she… she was here, with me, and I would never, _never_ let her go again. Even if it killed me.

I had to resist the tears that were once again threatening to fall, but I couldn’t resist the sudden urge to wrap her in my arms, like she had done to me before, and just _feel_ her presence again. She returned the gesture without hesitation.

We spent probably far too long like that, but I did manage to avoid crying this time, if not by that much. Once we pulled away, I looked her in the eyes and nodded.

“I’ll do, but only if you also tell me how you’ve been”

She smiled, and it was like the comforting warmth of the sun on a cold winter day.

“Okay” she offered me her hand “shall we go to the cafeteria?”

I took it “we shall” and we headed off, this time for real.


	3. Chapter 3

My calmness had lasted until I actually remembered where we were going and what we were going to do. Or, well, what _I_ was going to do.

I had been trying to tell myself that, like with Blake and Yang, if Adora trusted these people they couldn’t be that bad, but fear is irrational – or so they say. Truth be told, Adora’s grip in my hand was the only thing keeping me from _really_ panicking and running away to lock myself up inside our room and not come out until lunch.

So, instead, I tried to shift my focus away from the potential _hypothetical_ rejection and attacks, and into my best friend here, before I could get worse.

And I _had_ realized it, I swear, but it just hadn’t hit me yet just how _much fucking taller_ Adora had gotten since I last saw her. She was like, almost one head taller than I was _now!_ Granted, I hadn’t really had the chance to grow much, and it didn’t bother me, honestly, my height complimented my fighting style perfectly (and made me feel better about myself in the bad moments, but no one had to know that).

Also, her being so big also made me feel even safer, but I would never tell anyone that, much less Ad-

“We’re here”

The cafeteria was a pretty big room, now that I had a chance to see it outside of a map. Well, mostly long, but yeah, that. It was also not that crowded, I assumed because most people just hadn’t come back from their vacations yet.

Which meant that I had very easily pinned down the table where Blake and Yang, as well as _six_ other people, were sitting.

_Breathe, Catra, breathe_

I was feeling very grateful for my ability to hide my feelings right now.

Adora looked back to me with a small smirk, while pointing her thumb at them “come on, they’re right there”

_Breathe_

I’d been fighting people seriously since I was ten, I’d infiltrated into places whose occupants would have probably killed me if they’d caught me and got out unscathed, and _I’d survived living under that bitch’s roof for_ _my whole life_. 

This couldn’t possibly be that bad, even if these guys were.

It couldn’t.

_Breathe_

Adora gripped my hand tighter, but not so much that it hurt, and flashed me a reassuring smile. She had probably noticed my distress, _damn it._

“Don’t worry, they’re good people”

I took a deep breath, and released. Then, I tried my best to focus on Adora’s presence and stay calm and grounded. As much as I could.

“Okay”

She didn’t let go or lessen her grip, and I was very thankful for that.

We walked towards the table, and I refused the urge to flinch when they noticed us and started waving and greeting us-well, greeting Adora. In the time I had before the focus shifted to me, I took upon the new faces.

The girl in black and red seemed a little too cheery, th- _Weiss Schnee holy shit that bitch would kill to be here right now_ ; the girl with purple hair seemed a little too intense for what the bags below her eyes should have meant, and was looking at me with a little bit of hostility (I also thought I’d seen her somewhere else); the boy with the crop top was a little unremarkable, except for the literal heart he had painted on his chestplate.

_Not that I can talk about fashion_

The last two were a black-haired (with a single pink streak) boy with that radiated pure calmness, and a girl with orange hair that was devouring pancakes like it was nobody’s business, and being pretty loud about it.

_Okay Catra, just, stay calm, stay calm and all will go well_

I took a deep breath, as inconspicuously as I possibly could.

“Hey guys!”

All of them greeted her in some way except pancake girl. Adora sent her and calm boy a strange look.

“Didn’t Jaune arrive yesterday?”

Pancake girl actually stopped eating and answered “yeah, but he reeeally wasn’t feeling well this morning, and we dragged him the infirmary”

“Oh, I hope he feels better soon then”

She and calm boy made a hum of agreement before going back to her food. That Jaune guy must have been one of their teammates.

Adora turned her head back to the rest “guys, I’m proud to announce that team ABY, now ABYC, is no longer down a member!”

They… didn’t seem surprised. Crop-top boy answered first.

“We know, Yang was very loud about it when she and Blake got here”

“Hey! I'm just excited we actually get to kick some butt in the Tournament!”

Adora made a disappointed sound and shook her head a little; if that aspect of her hadn’t changed, then she had probably been excited to surprise them. A fond smile fell on my face, almost forgetting the situation I was in for a second.

Adora’s hand abandoning my own, and that same arm draping over my back and pushing me forwards _just_ a little brought me back to reality.

“Well, in any case, this is our new teammate, she also arrived yesterday”

She looked at me again, prompting me to present myself.

_Okay, relaxed_

“Hey, I’m… name’s Catrina”

Intense girl’s voice boomed around us “you!”

Her tone immediately irritated me. My eyes narrowed

“Me what?”

“You’re the reason why this noise machine” she almost shouted, all the while pointing at Yang “spent the night in my room and didn’t let me sleep in the whole night!”

“Hey, I’m not that bad!”

Red girl spoke up “Sis, believe me, your snores are louder than an Ursa”

_‘Sis?’, she’s Yang’s sister?, they don’t even look alike_

“Then how come they’ve never complained?” Yang retorted, pointing at Blake and Adora.

“Blake loves you” said girl reddened “and I bet Adora could sleep through an explosion” I decided then that I liked this girl.

Adora sheepishly rubbed her left hand on the back of her head “it wasn’t my fault that I slept through the alarm the first day” she muttered. I managed not to snort at her comment, a bit of a good mood returning. _You can’t wake her up unless she’s in danger,_ _that sounds like her alright._

Heart boy waved them off “don’t mind her, Glimmer gets very cranky when she hasn’t had a good night’s rest” he then offered me a smile just a little less bright than Yang’s “I’m Bruno, but literally everyone calls me Bow, so I won’t mind if you do that too, it’s nice to meet you”

“Nice to meet you too” he didn’t have his weapon in him, but I didn’t need to see it to know what it was. _Gods, people are so fucking unoriginal._ I liked him too though, he seemed nice but not too pushy.

When I looked back to them, red girl had seemingly managed to defuse intens- _Glimmer_ , to defuse Glimmer, and she looked a lot less intense than before. Now she just looked tired. The Schnee was also lightly rubbing one of her arms, while whispering something that made her smile. Kinda weird, but eh.

“So… hi!” red girl spoke, drawing my attention to her “nice to meet you Catrina!, I’m Ruby from team RWBG, and they are Weiss, Glimmer and Bow”

The latter sent me a look as if saying ‘told you’. The power of nicknames was strong indeed. The Schnee – Weiss, I guess – gave me a curt nod, a little stiff, while Glimmer waved somewhat disinterested with one hand while she covered her yawn with the other. 

I didn’t get an apology for her being an ass earlier. _Fine_ _by_ _me_ , I didn’t like her that much anyways.

Adora then introduced me to calm boy and not-pancake-anymore girl, who were apparently named Ren and Nora from team JNPR, and after both of us picked up some food we all sat down to eat – which I thanked the gods for, it was the first real meal I’d had in _months_ , and it was _so_ fucking good.

A while later, only a few minutes, I heard the doors open again, barely turning my head in curiosity to see who had come in. 

It was a group of four… I was tempted to call them men, because all but one of them were pretty tall and all, but they seemed to be trying so hard to look badass that I decided to call them boys instead. 

So, that, four boys, three of them in armor, the fourth one with a spiked shoulder-pad and a badly done mohawk. The one at the front of the group, with the brown hair and blue eyes, had a shit-eating grin that made me want to punch him.

Yeah, I didn’t like them.

Then mohawk guy looked at me and whispered something to the others, which made them turn towards me and stare for a second. Then, they _snickered_.

I was half out of my seat when I felt Adora’s hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, Catra, what happened?”

Slowly calming down from the sudden _fury_ I had been feeling, I pointed with my thumb at the group of jackasses, who seemed to have already forgotten me and went to get their own food.

“What’s their problem?”

Adora took a look, and frowned once she laid eyes on them, seeming almost angry for a moment, before sighing and turning back to me.

“They’re just a bunch of bullies, don’t pay them any attention” she sat back down “did they do anything?”

So a bunch of cowards who picked on people they thought weaker than them, then, much less worrying. ‘Still wanted to punch them in the face though “nah, just pissed me off a little. They’re like Lonnie then?”

Any trace of her previous expression quickly disappeared, replaced by a dreamy look, like she was reminiscing. She probably was, given that she hadn’t seen any of us-of _them_ _or me_ in like half a decade.

“Yeah, more or less like Lonnie, but more racist”

Yeah, nothing to worry about.

A few minutes later, and all of us had finished eating. I hadn’t tried to contribute to their conversations, no need to be all buddy-buddy with them even if they mostly seemed nice, I was only here to get away and make sure I _stay_ away. Well, and for Adora too, now, I guess.

Nora’s voice interrupted me before I could get up and leave.

“So, what’s your story?”

I recalled the cover Ozpin and I agreed to before I could start panicking-

“… you know, _together_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took forever, I kept getting stuck at the conversations and had to cut the chapter shorter than the other two. 
> 
> Also, I gave Bow another name because his actual name wouldn't work in RWBY, but he will still be called Bow by pretty much everyone don't worry about that.
> 
> On the team names:  
> ABYC = Apricot  
> RWBG = still RWBY


	4. Chapter 4

Adora took over and told Nora a very abridged and cut version of our history: that we were simply childhood friends and hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, so we were _obviously_ very happy to reunite.

Meanwhile, I just stayed silent, with my head between my hands, unable to form even a single comprehensible word, and probably beet red from embarrassment (because that’s _all_ it was).

Adora was also a little red, I had seen it, but at least she could talk instead of sputtering.

I heard several ‘aww’s from some of the members of the table, but didn’t bother looking.

Nora then said “I thought you were, you know, _together-together_ , because of that sleeping in the same bed and all, but this is also really adorable and I’m happy for you”

The whole thing was _humiliating_ , in a way I didn’t think I had ever felt – every previous instance had been more physical, as was that bitch’s style.

But at least it was also over, and we were on our way back to our room. And by we, I meant me and Blake, who told everyone else she had a book she wanted to finish reading (I just said I wasn’t feeling well, Adora understood, and everyone else at least went along with it), while Adora and Yang had gone to one of the training rooms, and the rest went to do whatever else they wanted to do.

The trip felt comparatively longer than before, probably because of the complete silence between this poorly disguised girl and me. Again, fine by me, if a bit too awkward for my liking.

Watching Blake unlock the door with her scroll made me remember that Ozpin still had to give me one. Once inside, I tumbled down on the bed I had chosen the last day, fully intending to take a nap since I didn’t really have anything to do – I mean, I could hypothetically get a head-start on the classes I’d have to attend later, but I’d rather fight a giant nevermore by myself than do that during my _free_ _time_ – and Blake did indeed grab a book, whose cover she took special care to hide with her hand, from the shelf closest to her bed, and sat down there to read it.

She still had her bow on, most likely because I was here, which baffled me, _does she really think she can hide that from another faunus?_

Well, okay, to be completely fair, I only knew because I had been listening to her conversation with her girlfriend last night, but my point still stood and a hat or even a beanie would have been a lot better to cover whatever trait she had on top of her head, if it was small enough that the bow enveloped it completely.

“Did you want something?”

I realized Blake was looking directly at me, her book resting on her lap. I must have been staring while I had my internal monologue about her bad clothing choice.

“Actually, yeah” I would have said no immediately, but then I realized… “can I tell you something?”

She nodded, her confused facial expression indicating that she didn’t seem to have expected it. I contained a grin. I liked her, I just wanted to tease her a little, no need to be an asshole about it.

“Your disguise is really bad”

Her expression hardened, and I could see her body visibly tense. _That_ had definitely caught her off guard.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that you should have made a better effort to cover this” I signaled the top of my head with my right hand, then pointed to the top of hers “than just with _that_ , I mean if, you’re actually trying to hide”

Her eyes narrowed, and I could swear I saw her pupils become slits for less than a second, or maybe it was just my imagination. In any case, she looked a little on edge right now.

“It’s worked out fine so far”

My first immediate impulse was to push further. I knew it wasn’t a good idea.

“I mean, probably?, but I’m sure there’s someone else who has also figured it out. And besides, why do you even wear it?”

The answer was enough to make Blake let her guard down a little it seemed, even if not completely, but at least now she didn’t look like she was ready to jump out the window, just like she wanted to end the conversation.

“Look, Catrina, it’s not your problem why I do it, I just-” she sighed “I just want people to see me for _who_ I am, not whatever their… prejudice tells them when they see that I’m a faunus”

The idea made some sense, but it still almost made me laugh. That same people she wanted to pass as human to would throw her under the bus the moment they found out that she wasn’t, even if Vale was indeed better for us than the other kingdoms like everyone said. I didn’t tell her that though.

“Well, okay, you do you I guess” I said while shrugging, and plopped back down on the bed “but I still think it’s dumb”

She didn’t answer, just sending me one last look that I couldn’t identify and going back to her book. _Whatever, she can be like that if she wants._ Meanwhile, I laid on my side and tried to have a little more rest.

It took me a while to fall asleep, and I didn’t manage to _stay_ asleep for long, periodically going in and out of it. I supposed tonight’s rest had been more than enough to keep me well (the sensation of Adora’s arms around me, and my general closeness to her, making me feel warm and safe).

At some point, I heard the sound of the door closing, that seemed to indicate that Blake had left, which I confirmed with a quick glance to her bed. I yawned into my hand and sat on the bed, lightly scratching the top of my head, then decided I should probably go take a shower.

I made it the shortest I could while still managing to feel clean, pointedly managing to ignore what could make me feel like shit (I had a lot of practice with that). It wasn’t too short, given that I had my mane of hair – that I absolutely loved and wouldn’t cut for anything in the world – and the fact that I also had fur, which took a long-ass time to dry compared to people without it form what I’d seen.

With that done, I put my clothes from before (minus new underwear) back on, and promptly realized that I had no idea what to do.

There wasn’t a clock in the room, but it didn’t seem late outside. I picked up a watch from my bag, that I’d managed to snatch away from some idiot that I didn’t remember, a day or two after I escaped, and verified that it was indeed still not late. The only things that came to mind were going back to what I was doing, which didn’t sound that good anymore, or going around to explore Beacon, which was a bad idea given that I couldn’t open the door from the hallway without a scroll I didn’t have. Before I could decide though, the door opened and Blake walked back in.

“Hey, Catrina?” she said upon spotting me “Adora asked me to tell you if you could meet her at the exit to the gardens in an around hour since, well, you don’t have a scroll”

“Yeah, it’s fine” it was time to have the talk, it seemed.

She nodded, texted my answer (or I assumed she did, she was using her scroll), and left with a wave.

_Okay_. I put on the watch, and decided to have that walk, clear my head a little and organize my thoughts before it was time.

 

* * *

 

 

The sky was beautiful at sunset.

I hadn’t had the chance to actually actively look at it like this during the past few years, whether because I was too tired from the day’s ‘activities’, because I was locked inside, or more lately, because I was too busy running and being a paranoid wreck to pay any attention to it.

But now that I could, though, after so many years, I more than appreciated it.

And the fact that I was doing this with _her_ , made it a thousand times better. It was almost like old times, what I remembered from them.

(and I was thinking that a lot these days, but hey, I was happy that _that_ was even a thing, sue me!)

Adora hadn’t let go of my hand since we went out to Beacon’s nearly empty gardens – I’d seen a few people around, but we were pretty much alone in the part we’d gone to. I wasn’t sure why, but imagining that she simply wanted to hold it made me feel warm, so I kept that thought with me.

We found a lone bench near a tree, and sat there after she was sure it was clear. There was silence for a good minute, neither of us knowing how to begin the conversation.

I did it myself.

“So, I… ”

I took a deep breath, then released. I noticed the sensation of Adora’s hand on mine before I saw it.

“Hey, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I was, just… I haven’t seen you in years, and I wanted to know how you’ve been, but I can just tell you my story if you’re not ready yet”

My mind screamed at me for a moment to just agree with her and avoid my part altogether. I got myself together, and told that voice to fuck off; I refused to put this off for any longer, both because I wanted to be sincere with Adora and because I’d never do this if it wasn’t now.

“Nah, it’s no problem, I just needed prepare myself a little, it’s been a few long years, and it’s a bit hard”

Adora nodded, some of the worry having washed off of her face “okay, if you’re sure?”

“Yeah. And I need to say it all in one go, so, you know” I gestured with my hand as if saying ‘the obvious’.

Her smile returned then alongside a second nod, and her grip over my hand became stronger, but yet again, not forceful or painful. I held onto the feelings it produced on me, I’d probably need it.

“Okay, so” _deep breaths, don’t lie_.

“First things first, I couldn’t leave _that_ place until just a few months ago, that… _she,_ didn’t let me. When I came back alone after you disappeared, she punished me worse than before and… and made me believe that they had killed you and it was all my fault”

I could notice my voice was starting to tremble. I refused to let it break.

“She got worse afterwards, both her insults and the punishments. Or, well, actually everyone got worse, I was pretty much alone in there, no one ever tried to help me after that day” _not like any of those fucking cowards had even tried before_.

“Eventually though, I managed to become strong, and useful enough to her that she didn’t hurt me, because she needed me” a momentary reprieve, that didn’t really do that much for me “then, a few months ago, once I saw the perfect chance, I stole as much money as I could from her and managed to run away with it. I didn’t stop until I got here”

Imagining how furious that bitch must have been once she realized what I’d done helped me feel just a little better about all these past years. _The criminal mastermind, outsmarted by a ‘useless animal’_.

It also helped me deal with how terrified I still was of her.

The look on Adora’s face though was a little worse than I imagined, if still inside the range of my expectations. And, to be honest, given that she had managed to have an actually decent life after she disappeared – if how she seemed, and the fact that she had actually got into Beacon on her own merits, was an actual indicator of her wellbeing – that reaction was completely understandable. ~~~~

I ignored the pang of _I don’t want to know_ that went through my chest when I thought about her being happy without me, this wasn’t on her.

“You… oh my gods Catra I… I’m-”

I put my other hand over the one she had on mine and squeezed, stopping her mid-word before she could apologize. Her eyes were trembling with unshed tears, and I suddenly felt all the worse for even telling her this, even if it was best to just rip the band-aid off early.

“No, stop, this isn’t on you, you didn’t do all this, _that bitch_ did” I made sure that she could hear the hatred I felt toward the ‘honorable’ mention “besides, it’s all in the past now, it doesn’t matter, I’m safe, I’m okay now, really”

She immediately shook her head “it _matters_ Catra I… I just assumed you escaped, I should have… “

I sighed “Adora-”

Her arms wrapped around me and her head rested on my shoulder. I stiffened a little at the sudden contact, but relaxed into it immediately after, letting that same warmth from the past night and morning envelop me again.

“No, I should have done something!” I noticed the tears she had been holding start falling on my fur “you shouldn’t have had to deal with that alone, what she must have forced you to do, I should have been there for you, I should have gotten you out of there!”

I wanted to say that she couldn’t have possibly been, but then again, I didn’t really know that. _Could she have?_ , just the doubt made me feel a bit sick in my stomach. This wasn’t the time.

I gently pushed away, but held her from her shoulders, not wanting to give away the touch.

“But you weren’t there, you couldn’t possibly have!” I forced the sincerest smile I could onto my face “it’s not your fault, Adora, it’s not”

“And she never got me to do anything horrible” the smile then grew more genuine. _Thanks to you_.

Adora passed her arm below her eyes to wipe the tears that still remained there, took a deep breath, and nodded.

“Okay, but I swear, I’ll make it up to you” her voice was a little shaky, but above all she sounded determined “I don’t know how but… I’m going to do it, for all those years you had to spend _there_ ”

I… didn’t know say to that. It felt good, really good, knowing that she cared so much, even if it also made me feel selfish for wanting it.

“Come on, don’t be so dramatic” I said, trying to avoid continuing that conversation “now, how was your life?, I want those juicy details”

She nodded, and exhaled to definitively calm herself, her bright smile back on her face.

“Remember _that_ day?” I nodded. I did, more than I sometimes wanted to “after they got me, the soldiers took me to their leader, she interrogated me and… she took me back to Atlas with her”

I blinked.

“Oh”

“Yeah, I know how it sounds” she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly “she decided that I was ‘just a child’ when she heard what I said, then she took me to Atlas, and because she couldn’t find my parents no matter how much she looked, she went and adopted me”

“I asked her to go look for you, a bunch of times, but she told me she couldn’t find you, or any of the others”

_Oh_

That fucking- of course Adora couldn't have done anything.

_That bitch_ had made us move places immediately when that particular operation had gone wrong. She knew something like that was going to happen, another way in which she had kept me trapped with her. For a moment, my fear of her was overridden by pure hatred and a sudden desire to just _end_ her.

I promptly buried the short wave of jealousy because ‘Adora got to have a mother that cares for her and I didn’t’ deep below said hatred, and tried my hardest to ignore it was there. _It’s not on her_ I repeated, _it’s all that bitch’s fault_.

The fact that she had only gotten adopted _after_ she left the ‘orphanage’ was pretty funny though.

“I’m… happy you didn’t have to go through what I did”

Her smile returned, though not as bright as before.

“There’s one last thing though, how did you find Glimmer?”

_Wha_ \- what did she had to do with this?

“Rude, more than anything, why though?”

Adora let out a nervous laugh.

“Because, the woman from the ship who adopted me?, Angella Brightmoon?”

I still didn’t understand what that had to do with anything, but I nodded. I vaguely remembered her name and a photo from the briefing that bitch had with the older ones before everything happened.

“She’s also Glimmer’s mom”

…

Oh

_Oh_

So that’s why she looked familiar.

“It’s fine, she tends to be that way to strangers, and she appreciates her sleep a lot”

“Yeah, Bow told me”

Both of us stopped talking, not knowing how to continue (so we just didn’t).

The next while, we spent looking at the sky, close together with our hands entwining again. It wasn’t much later that we decided it was time to go back, as the sun had nearly set during all this.

After dinner, which we took alongside Yang and Blake – the latter of which I noticed sneaking a glance or two toward me, the why, I didn’t care – instead of the large group from morning, we went back to the room and prepared to sleep.

Adora and I took our own beds this time, which were unfortunately in opposite sides of the room. I wanted to be physically closer to her, like the past night, but it was enough to just know she was here, and that she would still be in the morning.

As I ruminated before sleep took me, I knew one thing:

I was glad I decided to come here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It didn't take as long as the previous one, but it sure as hell feels like it took a lot longer. And sorry if some parts of the chapter seem rushed, I was very tired.
> 
> In any case, this ends the let's say first part of the story, the next chapters will have more character interactions other than Catra and Adora ANd will also go through the canon plot of Volume 2 (though with the obvious changes from this AU).
> 
> But before that, next will be a short interlude, stay tuned!


	5. Interlude 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Very) Short and sweet.
> 
> I don't know how to write kids, but at least I tried.

_8 years ago_

 

“H-hey Adora”

Said girl turned around, finding her best friend’s teary gaze and drooped cat ears directly in front of her. Seeing him like this, it made her feel like the whole world around her was falling apart; had they been picking on him again?

“Hey, are you okay?”

He shakily shook his head, hugging himself. It seemed like he just wanted to lay down and cry.

Adora hugged him, getting a sob out of his body.

“Come on, let’s go to our room”

He nodded, and followed her through the motions, all the while visibly trying to contain the sobs and tears that were wrecking him. What had gotten him this badly?

Once they got there, she brought him up to her bed and sat up beside him, an encouraging smile on her face and a hand on his shoulder.

“You can tell me what’s wrong, if you want” she had learned soon that trying to pressure her best friend to let her help never went like Adora would have liked, and the way she tried to had since changed accordingly “you know, whatever it is, I’ll never leave you and I’m gonna be here to help”

He cried a little more, until he could calm down enough to speak.

“You promise?”

Adora smiled reassuringly and nodded "I promise"

Her friend took a deep breath.

“Adora, I-I…”

But he was forced to stop when he started shaking again like a leaf. She moved the hand she had on his shoulder to give a one-armed hug.

“It’s okay, take as much time as you need”

She could see how he tried to force himself to bulldoze through the wall of feelings, and more or less succeeded.

A deep breath “Adora, I… I think I don’t wanna be a boy”

She couldn’t help the look of surprised that washed over her face. She definitely wasn’t expecting that that would be the reason of his-or _their_ , sadness.

They noticed it, as they sniffed in preparation to continue talking.

“I-I don’t like it, I… I don’t know how to say it… it’s like I’ve never felt good with how I was…” a choked sob “This morning, I saw myself in the mirror a-and, and I wanted to make the reflection disappear, I hate how much like a boy it looks, I hate it!”

Another, unrestrained, sob. She wanted to wrap her arms around them and protect them from the world.

“I know why I'm always feeling like this” they sat their legs on the bed and hugged themselves “I don’t wanna be a boy, I wanna be different I-I… I wanna be like you”

The floodgates opened up once again, and Adora finally gave up on stopping her urges, embracing her best friend like they would disappear if she let go.

“Hey, it’s okay, it doesn’t matter” she moved them away a little, just so both could see each other’s faces “it doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or not, you’re my best friend, and I won’t leave you”

Finally, a small smile formed in their face alongside a laugh that got mixed up with a sob, even if neither lasted long.

“If you’re not a boy, what do you want me to call you?”

There was very little hesitation in their heterochromatic eyes, even as they looked away in apparent embarrassment.

“I said it before, I-I want to be like you”

“So, a girl?”

_She_ nodded, at first slowly, then a little faster.

“Then you’re my best friend who is also a girl and I love her a lot!”

Her smile came back, even more sincere than before, accompanied by a tiny blush this time. Adora noticed she was crying again, but the glint in those eyes wasn’t of sadness or any other negative emotion, instead it was of pure unadulterated happiness.

For lack of a better term, she looked _free_ , liberated, like a butterfly that was finally hatching from her cocoon and beginning to extend her wings.

It made Adora so very happy too.

“Y-yeah, I like that, I-I like it a lot”

Both of them let their foreheads touch, and she couldn’t help but match her best friend’s infectious giggle with one of her own.

She had never seen her this happy before – she could guess that because neither of them knew there was a _she_ inside until now – and she would do anything to protect that smile.

Adora promised herself right then, that she would never leave this girl’s side no matter what or who tried to separate them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, this is the first thing I wrote for the AU, and I had a very different idea at first: Adora and Catra staying together and then running away from Shadow Weaver and to Beacon. It was also going to be a one/two-shot, so that's different too.


End file.
